A US Energy Department report of May 6, 2009 may show that crude- oil inventories increased 2.5 million barrels last week as refiners pumped less fuels on weaker demand for gasoline and diesel, as per the news survey. Crude oil dropped on May 5, 2009 as US equity markets fall for the first time in three days.
“In general the economy is still not that bullish,” said Clarence Chu, a trader at options dealer Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. “There is nothing to support the market moving higher.”
The dollar increased against the euro on May 5, 2009 on demand for the relative safety of the currency on concerns about the government stress tests. Investors tend to sell dollar-denominated commodities as the greenback dropped since their need for an inflation hedge declines.
Regulators have concluded that Bank of America Corp. has the largest need for capital among the 19 biggest US banks undergoing the stress tests.
Brent crude oil for June 2009 settlement was unchanged at $54.12 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange at 11:56 a.m. Singapore time. The contract dropped 46 cents, or 0.8%, to end the session at $54.12 a barrel on May 5, 2009.
